Equipment: One slip of paper for every player. Papers
should be in groups of five, and each group represents a family, for
example, the Smiths. So the first Smith paper would be Mr. Smith, the
second Mrs. Smith, the third Brother Smith and so on.

Each family should have a different last name but the same characters
(ie) one mom and one dad.

Each player is given one slip of paper and they must walk
around trading papers with everyone else in the room. They should try
to make as many exchanges as possible, and they should not be looking
at which papers they are receiving. The leader then calls out "Find
your family". The players must find the other members in their family.
When they have found them, they must sit in order from dad to baby in a
line on the floor. The last family to sit down may be eliminated if you
choose to do so. The leader may also give out specific instructions,
for example "Find your family without talking".

Have children retell the story "The Patchwork Quilt" using
a round robin process: Begin the story by reading the first sentences
just as they are printed in the book. Allow each student to have a turn
at adding other sentences to the story, in their words.

Family Traditions

Ask children what Tanya's grandmother meant when she said,
"Sometimes the old ways are forgotten." Why is it important to Tanya's
family to remember the "old ways"? What kinds of

family traditions are reflected in the story of "The Patchwork Quilt"?
Brainstorm to make a list (quilting, Halloween and Christmas
celebrations, caring for older family members...).

Ask the children to list traditions in their families.
Compare the lists, helping the children to see how many things their
families have in common. Explain that these traditions are part of the
children's culture.

You may want the children to illustrate their traditions
and compile them in individual books.

*Art

Dream Bulletin Board

Cut construction paper into different size squares and
rectangles. Have the children decorate the shapes. Place the squares
and rectangles onto the bulletin board to look like a quilt. Using lunch paperbags have the children create puppets. Tuck the
puppets into the top of the bulletin board quilt.
You can place a white paper cloud above the puppets heads and have
children write or draw in their dreams.

Designers Only

Ask each child to select fabric from the fabric box and
design an outfit s/he might like to wear (dress, blouse, pants, shorts,
etc.). Give each child an outline of a person. Have the children glue
the outfit onto the outline. The children love doing this activity and
will spend a lot of time working on their outfits.

Patchwork Puzzle

Have the children draw a picture of a quilt on tagboard.
Color in the sections with magic markers. Cut the sections apart to
make a puzzle for your friends to put together. Store all the puzzle
pieces in a large clasp envelope.

Class Quilt

Provide a basket of fabric remnants for making a quilt.
(Children may work in small groups) Also, provide thread, needles, and
scissors. Instruct the children to list the sequence necessary to make
a quilt. Prepare a checklist for the children. If the list is in the
correct sequence, allow the children to proceed with making the quilt.
Steps in making a quilt:
1. Cut pieces of fabric using a pattern
2. Place the right (printed) sides of the fabric together.
3. Sew the pieces together on one side.
4. Continue to sew pieces together until you have at least 8 pieces
sewn together.
5. Repeat step 4 until you have at least 10 strips.
6. Sew the strips together by placing the right (printed) sides
together.
7. Repeat step 6 until all strips have been sewn together.

from the Aztecs to the Navajo
Indians to people today. A simple definition of a Mandala is that it is
a circular drawing made to represent the harmony and wholeness of life
or the wholeness of a person.

Need: colored pencils, markers, tape dittos that have a
large circle drawn on them-fills 81/2 paper from side to side. A
teacher made model if possible.

As a class brainstorm a list of things that are important to a person's
life.
Each child should choose ten items from the board and then rank order
them from most important to least important. Each item should be
something the student experiences in their own lives.
Children should now think a symbol that they could draw to represent
each item on their list. Note: May need to explain what a symbol is.
Use poplar business symbols in your area (examples: McDonalds, Nike...)
Children should draw the most important symbol in the middle and then
arrange the other items around the circle in a pleasing manner to each
individual child.

Now color in the symbols on the space around them. Children
may also brainstorm for colors that symbolize different items, for
example, money might be shown as green dollar sign.

After they have designed their mandalas, each child could
write one sentence about each symbol explaining what it is and why it
is important to life. For example, The three figures in the middle
represent my family that gives me strength, hope and support.
No name goes on the front of a Mandala. Hang them up on the walls and
let the other children read them and try to guess who the Mandala
represents.